[discdog]

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood, so I decided to try one I haven't had, but did hear a lot of positive comments on. I set everything up on the patio, broke out the new Palio cutter, clipped and commenced to herfing. Well, sort of.

Brand: 601 by E O Brands - United Tobacco

Frontmark/Vitola/Size: Robusto 5.5 x 50

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Wrapper also available in Corojo

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Local/online price: Available in 4 sizes:
Churchill (7 x 52) - $7.90/each or $137.95
Esplendido (7 x 49) - $7.50/each or $126.95
Torpedo (6 x 52) - $7.90/each or$141.95
Robusto (5-1/2 x 50) - $6.50/each or$116.95

Widely available on line, found this product at all major vendors
Locally - Blue Havana II, Cigar Connoisseur, Cigar Merchant

First impression: Being another of the Don Pepin Garcia blends, I had high hopes for this brand. Although the wrapper was a beautiful dark chocolate and very oily in appearance, the cigar was very light in the hand and soft/spongy (under filled?)

Prelight draw: Loose and spicy with a little bitterness left on the lips

Light: Took a little longer than normal to light this one and get it going

Smoking the cigar: Initial inch was no where near as spicy as I thought it would be, nutty with cedar. Actually, the first half was all the same - medium strength, the nutty flavor was very up front. When I hit the second half, BAM! Cedar and spice explosion. Now that's what I was expecting from this stick. Two puffs later, back to the nutty flavor with a subdued hint of spice, the cigar definitely picked up some strength, but nothing ever came of the spice or cocoa that I expected.

Ash: Nice white with flecks of black, very loose, had to ash about every ¾ of an inch, maybe a little less

Conclusion/Comments: This cigar is touted to be "for experienced smokers", I didn't see why. Although it did have some nice flavors, this cigar did not really hold my attention with the exception of the short burst at the halfway point. I found this sample one of the few of the Don Pepin Collection that I found a little boring. I'll have to try a couple of more, but without the high hopes, maybe the next one will change my mind. We'll see.

My scale for rating is as follows:
Appearance: 1-10
Construction: 1-10
Burn: 1-10
Taste: 1-60
Value: 1-10

For this cigar:
A- 7
C- 4
B- 4
T- 48
V- 5

For a total of - 68

 

[Boston_Dude05]

Re: 601 EO - United Tobacco

Thanks for the great review. Have some on the way and I've been suspicious whether this one would be any good. It's supposed to be a joint effort with other companies, like RP etc.. I thought I read that somewhere. So my point is, it may not be a true Pepin creation.

 

[discdog]

Re: 601 EO - United Tobacco

Pepin Garcia blended this series. United Tabacco owns 601,REO, VIBE and one other lesser known brand. The REO and the VIBE are both rolled by RP. The 601 is rolled in the new Pepin factory in Nicaragua.

 

[donp]

Re: 601 EO - United Tobacco

A while back there was a free cigar offer which many here jumped on. Once BOTLs started smoking them, the reviews on them were mixed. I still haven't smoked mine yet; I kinda forgot about it.